Abrams & Chronicle Call

Named a Best Cookbook for Spring 2019 by The New York Times and Bon Appetit

2020 James Beard Award Nominee ¿ Best Cookbooks ¿Vegetable Focused Cooking

Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables is not your typical cookbook-it is a how-to-cook book of a variety of vegetables. Author Abra Berens-chef, farmer, Midwesterner-shares a collection of techniques that result in new flavors, textures, and ways to enjoy all the vegetables you want to eat. From confit to caramelized and everything in between-braised, blistered, roasted and raw-the cooking methods covered here make this cookbook a go-to reference.

Treasure trove of 300 recipes. Spanning 29 types of vegetables-from asparagus to zucchini-each chapter opens with a homage to the ingredients and variations on how to prepare them. 140 photographs show off not only the finished dishes, but also the vegetables and farms behind them.

Vegetables as a side or a main. Take any vegetable recipe in this book and add a roasted chicken thigh, seared piece of fish, or hard-boiled egg to turn the dish into a meal not just vegetarians will enjoy. Some bound-to-be favourite recipes include:

¿ Shaved Cabbage with Chili Oil, Cilantro, and Charred Melon
¿ Blistered Cucumbers with Cumin Yogurt and Parsley
¿ Charred Head Lettuce with Hard-Boiled Egg, Anchovy Vinaigrette, and Garlic Bread Crumbs
¿ Massaged Kale with Creamed Mozzarella, Tomatoes, and Wild Rice
¿ Poached Radishes with White Wine, Chicken Stock and Butter

Ruffage will help you become empowered to shop for, store, and cook vegetables every day and in a variety of ways. You'll learn about the life and life-giving properties of plants the way a farmer sees it, build experience and confidence to try your own original variations, and never look at vegetables the same way again.